The 1966 D'Oyly Carte Sorcerer

Cast Sir Marmaduke Donald Adams Alexis David Palmer Dr. Daly Alan Styler Notary Stanley Riley John Wellington Wells John Reed Lady Sangazure Christene Palmer Aline Valerie Masterson Mrs. Partlet Jean Allister Constance Ann Hood D'Oyly Carte Opera Chorus Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor: Isidore Godfrey Recorded at Decca Studios, West Hampstead 14–19 February 1966

Decca SKL-4826

London OSA-1264

Like the 1953 recording, this set was made at a time when The Sorcerer was not in the D'Oyly Carte repertory. Performances of the opera had become ever more infrequent in the 1930s, and when the sets were destroyed in a WWII bombing raid, the Company simply didn't bother to replace them.

According to the May 1966 edition The Savoyard (Vol. 5, No. 1, p. 4) the Company were originally planning to record The Mikado under Sir Malcolm Sargent, but Sargent fell ill, so the scheduled time was used to make this recording. The cast give a strong account of the opera despite having no stage experience in their roles, though perhaps the performance would have been even stronger five years later, when the opera finally did return to the repertory.

To date, this is the only stereo recording of the opera. It is musically complete, except for the repeat of "I do confess an anxious care," in Act II. It has been re-issued on CD coupled with D'Oyly Carte's 1978 recording of The Zoo.

Decca 473 659-2